Time and Again
by Gothic Revival
Summary: An AU fic set in 1944 Poland, during WWII. When Noin is put in Aushwitz, the most feared of the camps, will Zechs come to her aid?
1. Default Chapter Title

Time and Again  
by Mrs Chang  
  
Disclaimer: No money, no rights, no life. I do not own Gundam Wing, nor any of the characters or plot elements. This is a work of fiction, and I am making no money off of it whatsoever.  
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This story is the first part of the first in a series of fics. It is AU, and is set in 1944, in Poland, during the German occupation in WWII. Noin is an Italian who was discovered hiding Jews in her basement. Zechs is a German SS officer stationed at Aushwitz, one of the death camps.  
  
Warnings: Angst (later on), Profanity (later on), and some violence.  
  
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[Noin]  
  
"Where are we going?" asks one of the others.  
  
"I do not know," I say quietly. "Why are you here?"  
  
"I am a Jew," answers the young girl to which I am speaking.  
  
I nod. "I see."  
  
"Why did they arrest you? You do not look like one of us. You are not wearing our star."  
  
"I am not Jewish," I say. "I am Italian. I hid two Jews in my cellar."  
  
The girl smiles. "I see you are not a facist. I am glad to see this."  
  
I am quiet. I know where we are going. We are going to one of those cursed camps my cousin wrote to me about. I am very afraid. They say the Nazis are monsters. That they kill anyone who is not an Aryan like them. I do not look Aryan, or even Italian, with my dark hair and eyes. I am very afraid.  
  
"Hurry! Go! Get on the train!" order the guards in German. I do as I am told. I do not want to find out what happens if we disobey.  
  
We are loaded into the train. They is nowhere to sit, and there must be at least a hundred of us in this cramped, hot cattle car. That is all we are to them. Cattle. Not just the Jews, but even those of us who merely oppose what the Nazis are doing; man's inhumanity to man.  
  
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We arrive at the camp 5 days later. We are all so tired. We have not had anything to eat or drink since we got on the train. We are herded through a large gate, above of which is a large sign which says /Arbeit Macht Frei/. Work Brings Freedom. Freedom from what, people around me ask. I am too confused, hungry, and tired to say.  
  
We are divided. As we walk past a guard, he points left and right, again and again. I am sent to the right. My mother and sister are sent to the left. I am sad to see them go. But I dare not cry out.  
  
We are shamed. Our clothing is taken, and we are given plain, striped clothing. Next, they cut our hair short. We all look the same now. We all blend in, for everything is grey. Our clothes, the ground, and the faces of those women already in our barracks when we arrive; they are all grey.  
  
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We are called for counting later. We get the chance to ask the others where our families are; if those who were sent to the left are still in the camp. They point at the smoke billowing out of chimneys elsewhere in the camp. "That is them," they say, no emotion evident. "They kill us, then burn our bodies. No... they will not be coming back..."  
  
I am confused. "Why are they killing us?" I ask.  
  
The others shrug, for they know as little as I do.  
  
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The next day, we are put to work. We clean for the Germans who live near the camp. We are now nothing more than slaves. I am angry. I wish to run. But one of the other women, one the of the Jews, told me that they shoot you if you try to run.  
  
As we work, I accidentally trip over a bucket of dirty water, spilling it. I am fearful as a woman SS walks toward me, I am afraid I will be punished. And I am. Or I almost am.  
A man, a tall, blonde, hansome SS, steps between the two of us. He speaks in soft, Austrian-tinted German, telling the woman that I am not at fault. He apparently out ranks her, for she walks away. I am shocked as he helps me up off the floor.  
  
The Germans, especially the SS, do not touch the prisoners, accept for the poor girls who are pretty enough to catch the men's eye. Then they are taken away, and I do not wish to even think of what is done to them. So, by reflex, I recoil from the man's touch. He smiles, and speaks softly.  
  
"Do not fear me," he says, his long blonde hair tossed casually over his shoulder. "I will not harm you. Go. You will not be punished for an accident."  
  
I thank him in mumbled Italian, my native language. He smiles again. "Arevederci," he says.  
  
I turn from the man to leave, for the women who supervise us are calling; we must go back to camp. That means another meal of unidentifiable, arguably inedible food. I do not eat, I am not hungry, for I am too absorbed in my thoughts. I thought all the SS were evil. So why was that one man so nice? He seemed sincere when he said he would not hurt me. Why am I so eager to trust him?  
  
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[Zechs]  
  
I sit in the barracks, thinking of the day's events. That girl, the dark haired one, keeps coming to mind. I cannot explain why I prevented her punishment. She was pretty, but there must have been more to it, or I would have allowed the beating she no doubt would have recieved, I know I would have. But why? She was a Jewish sympathizer. She had aided Jews, no doubt. And the Jews are evil, aren't they? They are destroying the fatherland, are they not? She will --and should-- be treated as all the enemies of the Reich, should she not?  
  
Then why can't I get that girl out of my mind?  
  
  
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I hope you liked it so far. Write a review of email me about it!  
  
-Mrs Chang 


	2. Time and Again (Part 2)

"Time and Again" Part 2  
by Mrs Chang  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, they don't own me... If anyone's makin' mony off this, it sure as hell ain't me...  
Pairings: 6x9  
Author's Notes: Yeah, I don't usually go the het route with Zechs-sama, but I couldn't help it, this just works. This is and AU fic, and is set in 1944(AD); the location is Aushwitz. (Nazi deathcamp... work with me, people...!) The only GW charas are Noin and Zechs; Noin is and Italian living in Germany, and was caught, along with her mother and sister, hiding Jews in their home. She is sent to Aushwitz, and Zechs is a Nazi supervisor in the camp.  
Watch for POV changes...  
  
And so, without further ado, part 2 of "Time and Again"...  
  
  
  
[Zechs]  
  
I am awoken by the typical raucus noise of my bunkmates.  
  
"Hey, Zechs, I hear you have a little friend among the Jewesses. And she's a pretty one..." says Nikolae, the occupant of the bunk above mine; I recognize that look... the look the superiors have just before one of the women prisoners goes missing...  
  
I suck in a breath, and wonder if they know about the girl. I would never hear the end of it if one of my comrades heard that I was considerate to a prisoner. "No, I know no Jewess." This is not a lie, the girl was not a Jew; she did not wear the star given to Jews.  
  
"Oh, Zechsy boy, you scoundrel. You've gone and gotten a girlfriend and didn't even tell us," coos Nikolae, despite my protests. This is all a silly little game to them.  
  
"I know no Jewess!" I shout, my temper temporarily out of check. "And I will hear no more of this idiocy!"  
  
They back away, knowing I am taller, stronger, and smarter than them anyway. The men are quiet now, unnerved by my sudden outburst. I stalk out the door of the barracks. Sighing, or more correctly, hissing, in irritation, I sit on the hood of one of the trucks.   
  
"Hey," says Josef, my best friend, who has followed my outside, "me thinks you protesteth too much." I roll my eyes, and smack him hard upside the head.  
  
"I know no Jewess."  
  
"Is that all you can say?" he jokes.  
  
I snort. "Go away." He obliges, and as I sit in solitude, I cannot help but wonder where that girl is right now...  
  
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[Noin]  
  
"Get up! You must all get up and form groups of five!" shouts one of the German women in broken Jewish, which I understand. It is rutine now, for we have been doing this everyday since we arrived in this cursed camp; it seems as if it's been forever, and that my old life is lifetimes away.  
  
We are all tired, but we know that if we do not prepare for roll, we will regret it. I join my usual group, and we huddle together, shivering against the cold. We have been here for several months now; how many, exactly, I know not. Time passes slowly, and I have given up counting the days.  
  
But today the roll is taking longer than usual. We know what this means. Selection. The word ripples through the groups. The doctors are choosing who is being sent to the crematoriums. My number is called, and I step forward. The doctor -I believe he is the one they call Mengele- looks me over, and I can tell he notices how weak I look. I was sick, some kind of fever wrought of such close quaters and lack of food.  
  
The doctor turns to the bookman and nods, and I see he is the blond man, the one who saved me from that supervisor weeks ago. He raises his pen to write my number, but when his gaze moves from my arm, where my number is branded, to my face, he stops. I looked at him pleadingly, but he writes my number anyway. As I walk away, and dead woman walking, I see him stealthily erase something from the book; my number, I think. No, I hope.  
  
  
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @  
  
The next day, those chosen in the selection yesterday are called by number. I flinch as each number is spoken; my best friend and her younger sister, a mere 14 years old, are taken away. And yet I remain.  
Why? I think to myself. I saw him write my number. He really must have erased it... but why?  



	3. Time and Again (Part 3)

"Time and Again" Part 3  
by Mrs Chang  
  
Warnings: Profanity, Angst, Mature Themes  
  
Pairings: 6x9  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, or the characters therein. I am making no money off of this work; it is strictly for entertainment purposes.  
  
Author's Notes: Yes, I *know* this part is a long time overdue, but I've been busy. Not much to say. POV piece; Noin and Zechs.  
  
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[Zechs]  
  
Nicholae is smiling. A bit too much, I think.  
  
"You look like the cat that ate the canary," I say as I sit down next to him in the dining hall.  
  
He smiles even more and says, "Well, you see, I heard a nice little rumor from a friend of mine."  
  
My lip involuntarily curls in contempt. Nicholae's friends are the type I try to avoid; they're all nothing but trouble. "Oh," I say, curbing my disgust. "What might this rumor of yours be?"  
  
"Well, it seems that the women's camps are getting so full that the big guys up top said that we should... remove some of them and put them to better use." A wicked smile accompainies his words. "We're choosing tomorrow, barrack 9."  
  
I am silent. I *know* what this means. The guys will visit the women's barracks, several of the girls will disappear before nightfall, and...  
  
I push the end of that thought out of my mind as quickly as possible. These little "removals" have been going on for a while now. I was never involved, but it never bothered me too terribly much. So why does it now?  
  
Nicholae is still looking at me, expecting an answer. I cannot answer. So I just leave.  
  
I return to my room; mercifully, it's empty. Sitting down, I rake my fingers through my hair as I try to forget what Nicholae has just told me. Those girls have *no* idea what awaits them. The others can be cruel. Very cruel. It would almost be better if those chosen tomorrow were sent to Mengele instead.  
  
Mengele. Numbers. The girl.  
  
My stomach does a cartwheel.  
  
The girl whose number I erased. She was in barrack 9. I remember now. And that was a small barrack. A *very* small barrack.  
  
  
[Noin]  
  
One of the woman guards, the only one who talks to us, has told us that there will be more guards in tomorrow. She gave us no reason, but I think it may be some sort of inspection. The word soldiers makes me think of *him*... the one who saved me... is it *twice* now?  
  
[Zechs]  
  
The next morning comes too soon for me. My alarm clock goes off at 5 o' clock, as usual. I snarl, and throw it across the room; silencing it. Everyone else sleeps right through the noise, as is typical. I am the only early riser in the whole quaters, I'm sure of it. I pick my way across the floor. I try avoid the clothing and junk strewn about the floor, but, never the less, I nearly trip over someone's boot. I kick it across the room. It hits the wall with a thud. I really *am* in a bad mood today.   
  
Walking into the bathroom, I splash my face with water. My mind just doesn't want to wake up today; there's this strange ache of dread in the back of my mind. And then I remember why. The're choosing today. More than a dozen girls are about to go through hell, and they don't even know it yet.  
  
And I keep thinking of that girl, and how one of those chosen could be her.  
  
You can't let that happen, I think to myself. Something in my gut is screaming for me to protect this girl.  
  
There's a catch, though: I've only got a few hours.  
  
And just how *does* one go about finding someone when you don't even know their name?  
  
  
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So, Chapter 3 complete. Watcha think?  
  
Mrs Chang wild_child0102@hotmail.com 


	4. Time and Again (Part 4)

Time and Again  
  
Part 4  
  
Warnings: AU, Angst, Holocaust setting, mature themes.  
  
Pairings: 6x9  
  
Disclaimers: Gundam Wing is not owned by the authoress. This is a work of fiction, and is not sanctioned by the respective owners of Gundam Wing and related indicia. No money is being made off of this work; it's for entertainment purposes only.  
  
Author's Notes: Well, this part just took FOREVER, didn't it? I really labored over this part... I'm not quite sure why, though... Anywho, enjoy!  
  
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[Noin]  
  
The soldiers have arrived. Not the older, stoic officers we are accustomed to, but rather younger, less familiar ones. I've only caught glimpses of them, but I don't like what I've seen. They haven't the calm look about them we expect from officers... They look cruel, and... expectant, I suppose. As if they know something we don't. Something awful.  
  
  
[Zechs]  
  
I race through the camp, the pounding of my feet on the pavement drowned out by the pounding of my heart. I've got to get there before the others. I've got to protect her...  
  
I catch up with my comrades only yards away from the barracks.  
  
"Well, well..." says one of them. "Change your mind, Zechs?"  
  
I am too out of breath to speak. As I regain my composure, I try to think. There's got to be some way to pull this off. Surely there's some excuse I can come up with...  
  
I'm out of time.  
  
The women guards open the large double doors into the barracks and we are ushered inside. The girls, some appearing to be only in their early teens, are grouped together in the typical set of fives. They seem a little afraid, and a little confused.  
  
My eyes darting from group to group, I try to find her without drawing too much unwanted attention to myself. The last thing I need right now is for the other man to start asking questions.  
  
As the men spread out and look over the women, I spot her standing at the far end of the room. Walking briskly to her, I am terrified when I see Nicholae, of all people, approaching her as well. He gets to her only seconds before I do, and is about to grab her wrist when I bat his hand away.  
  
"Do not touch," I say, gently taking hold of her arm so as not to frighten her. My palm covers her number. The numbers are how they identify which women will be taken from the groups later that night. The numbers denied him, Nicholae backs away and begins the search for some other girl.  
  
I release her arm, but I do not move. My presence should be enough to keep the others from assuming she is available for the claiming.  
  
  
[Noin]  
  
The soldier from before stands near me. I feel somehow safe from whatever evil nearly befell me. That is the only thing that describes what I saw in that other man's eyes: pure evil.  
  
The blond soldier's eyes are gentle; he seems relieved that the other one is gone. Out of reflex, I flinch when he moves a step closer.  
  
"What is your name?" he asks in a whisper.  
  
"Lu... Lucrezia," I stammer, my voice equally subdued. He is facing me fully now, and his soft blue eyes have an almost hypnotic quality.  
  
"That's a beautiful name," he murmurs. "My name is Zechs."  
  
"I... what is going on?" I ask, throwing caution to the wind. Something tells me to trust this man.  
  
  
[Zechs]  
  
"The other officers have permission to take some of the women from this barracks and... use them as they see fit," I finish quickly, hoping the speed of my words will soften the awful truth they carry.  
  
"I... And what is to become of me?" she whispers, her voice barely audible. "Am I to meet such a fate at your hands?"  
  
"NO," I hiss fiercely. "Nothing of the sort will be done to you."  
  
"Why?" she murmurs. "Why do *you* care?" Her voice is almost accusatory in nature.  
  
"I... haven't a clue," I confess. "But rest assured, I'll not let anything happen to you."  
  
This seems to calm her a bit. "Promise me," she says.  
  
"I promise," I whisper. "No harm shall come to you if I can do anything about it."  
  
My mind races as I try to think of some course of action. I can't do anything to help her, at least not now.  
  
The other men are preparing to leave. I glance at Lucrezia's number and commit it to memory almost instantly. It may be useful information in the future.  
  
"I'll find you again," I say before I turn to go.  
  
And I will find her again. That much is for sure.  
  
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Well, part 4 complete.  
  
Tyler (Mrs Chang) wild_child0102@hotmail.com 


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